Stephen Metz and Colleen Reed
Donation protected
The physical, emotional, and financial hardships that occur when a person is battling cancer is a difficult challenge for any family. One can hardly reconcile the hardships endured when two life partners, who are self employed, are battling cancer simultaneously with its debilitating treatments and surgeries. This is the situation for Stephen Metz and his partner Colleen .
Stephen, a renown artisanal woodworker, recently underwent radical surgery due to the aggressive spread of his colorectal cancer. It is uncertain at this time, if he will ever be able to return to his livelihood. This is a stress that weighs heavily on his mind as he is trying to recuperate. Stephen and Colleen, who faced her own battle with her Breast Cancer diagnosis this year, have had to endure one hardship after another and they are in urgent need of outside help. With resources running low, medical and personal bills are piling up.
Stephen received his diagnosis of Colorectal cancer on Father’s day 6/16/2018. Initially, chemotherapy and radiation shrunk the tumor to a size small enough that he was able to avoid radical surgery. During this time he had cat scans every 3 to 4 months to insure the cancer did not grow or spread. Despite monitoring with check-ups and Cat Scans the cancer spread aggressively to his bladder and prostate. No satisfactory explanation has been provided by the doctors tasked with the job of monitoring his cancer as to why this aggressive spread was not detected. Before the Holidays, Stephen underwent radical surgery to remove his bladder, pelvic lymph nodes and prostate. During the same surgery, a procedure was performed to attach a plastic pouch to replace his bladder. Recovery for such radical surgery is painful and lengthy.
Colleen who was holding down the fort, so to speak , and being Stephen’s sole caretaker received her own cancer diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma (Breast Cancer) on, of all days, Valentine’s day 2/14/2020 . Her cancer had not been detected with a mammogram. The collective medical consensus to treat this type of cancer nowadays is a lumpectomy to spare as much of the breast as possible instead of a mastectomy. Sadly this was not to be Colleen’s happy story. Unfortunately none of the 3 separate lumpectomy surgeries this year resulted in clear margins and Colleen underwent a mastectomy on 10/8/2020.
Please help share some light, and love for Stephen and Colleen in their time of need by donating and also sharing the link with friends, family, your Facebook and Instagram families. etc.
Stephen, a renown artisanal woodworker, recently underwent radical surgery due to the aggressive spread of his colorectal cancer. It is uncertain at this time, if he will ever be able to return to his livelihood. This is a stress that weighs heavily on his mind as he is trying to recuperate. Stephen and Colleen, who faced her own battle with her Breast Cancer diagnosis this year, have had to endure one hardship after another and they are in urgent need of outside help. With resources running low, medical and personal bills are piling up.
Stephen received his diagnosis of Colorectal cancer on Father’s day 6/16/2018. Initially, chemotherapy and radiation shrunk the tumor to a size small enough that he was able to avoid radical surgery. During this time he had cat scans every 3 to 4 months to insure the cancer did not grow or spread. Despite monitoring with check-ups and Cat Scans the cancer spread aggressively to his bladder and prostate. No satisfactory explanation has been provided by the doctors tasked with the job of monitoring his cancer as to why this aggressive spread was not detected. Before the Holidays, Stephen underwent radical surgery to remove his bladder, pelvic lymph nodes and prostate. During the same surgery, a procedure was performed to attach a plastic pouch to replace his bladder. Recovery for such radical surgery is painful and lengthy.
Colleen who was holding down the fort, so to speak , and being Stephen’s sole caretaker received her own cancer diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma (Breast Cancer) on, of all days, Valentine’s day 2/14/2020 . Her cancer had not been detected with a mammogram. The collective medical consensus to treat this type of cancer nowadays is a lumpectomy to spare as much of the breast as possible instead of a mastectomy. Sadly this was not to be Colleen’s happy story. Unfortunately none of the 3 separate lumpectomy surgeries this year resulted in clear margins and Colleen underwent a mastectomy on 10/8/2020.
Please help share some light, and love for Stephen and Colleen in their time of need by donating and also sharing the link with friends, family, your Facebook and Instagram families. etc.
Organizer
Linda Sullivan
Organizer
Nockamixon Township, PA
